Clara City man convicted of criminal vehicular homicide

Arnold Ronald Jaenisch, 71, of Clara City, has been found guilty by a Chippewa County jury of two felony counts of criminal vehicular homicide in a two-day trial last week.

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Montevideo American-News

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Posted Jul. 18, 2013 at 5:00 AM

Posted Jul. 18, 2013 at 5:00 AM

Montevideo, MN

Arnold Ronald Jaenisch, 71, of Clara City, has been found guilty by a Chippewa County jury of two felony counts of criminal vehicular homicide in a two-day trial last week.

Jaenisch was charged with driving through a double-posted stop sign at the intersection of Chippewa County Road 13 and Minnesota Highway 29 five miles north of Montevideo on Dec. 16, 2011. Jaenisch's vehicle struck the vehicle of Kelly Marie Berghorst, 39, of Montevideo. Berghorst was pronounced dead at the scene.

Jaenisch, who was seriously injured in the crash, was ordered held in jail pending a pre-sentencing investigation, which has not been scheduled, said Chippewa County Attorney Dave Gilbertson.

Jaenisch was also found guilty of open bottle and stop sign violation. Another felony charge of criminal vehicular homicide was dismissed prior to the trial.

According to the criminal complaint, Jaenisch had a blood alcohol level of 0.11 within two hours of the crash. Jaenisch had previous convictions for driving while impaired in 2007 and 2008.